"You're not drunk if you can lie on the floor without holding on." – Dean Martin

Monthly Archives: December 2017

So with the end of the year rolling around, I thought I would quickly list my most played board games for the year:

10 Days in Asia- A nice small filler game with interesting decisions. Very luck dependent but the trick comes down to how to mitigate your luck.

Scythe- A game that keeps on giving. Best described as an economic game with a side of combat and posturing, it has good table presence and its forgiving nature means you are in the game until the end (for the most part).

Magic Maze- A bit of a flash in the pan in the game group. Was played consistently for a few weeks and now it has sort-of petered out. Still a fun game although I have not played consistently enough to get to the higher scenarios.

Codenames- A favorite starter game. It also got a shot in the arm with Duet, which I prefer allot more than regular Codenames.

Mansions of Madness Second Edition- A great game. Removal of the Overlord means it is purely co-operative and very easy to get to the table.

7th Continent- Probably my game of the year (I haven’t played Gloomhaven yet). A great exploration game that nailed exactly what it set out to do- a choose your own adventure in an open world.

This has been a very good year for games, with some great games coming out, old favorites coming back in print and available, and allot of favorites hitting the table. 2018 has allot to live up to.

With some of the recent end-of-year sales going on, I thought I would give a quick rundown on some of the games that have been brought into my collections:

SEASONS: A dice-drafting game that I have had my eye on for awhile, I am really looking forward to this. This and Level 7: Omega Protocol are sort-of grail games for me (with Ginkgopolis being purchased last year).

FLATLINE- A FUSE AFTERSHOCK GAME: A real-time game where you are disaster managing. It reminds me of a dice version of X-Com. For the sale price, it was worth a try and you can solo it.

KINGSPORT FESTIVAL: A dice placement game. I have consigned myself that most games I play are 3+ players or solo, so the lack of 2 player isn’t really a turn-off. Also, for the price, it was too good a game to pass by.

SUMMONER WARS: I got two starter sets of this to muck around with (and so I can also play more than 2 player). Seemed like a good option and will see how good it is. I would’ve liked a master set but it wasn’t on sale.

A Bunch of Expansions: Cry Havoc, Mystic Vale, Clank! all had there expansions. I also grabbed one of the next Unlock! games.

Plenty of different games in there to cut my teeth on. There are also gaps in my shelves from games that have been sold off (which will probably be a separate post another time) so this is likely to keep my shelf nice and full.

Gourmet burgers are a go-to option when going out. Although they tend to be expensive compared to other options, there are allot of advantages to burgers.

Meal Deals: Adding fries and a drink normally comes in as a standard meal rather than buying things individually. It often also works out as slightly cheaper. People also don’t look at you weirdly if you are hungry and get fries (as it is a standard burger thing, rather than having 2 different plates at another restaurant).

Variety: There are vegetarian, beef, chicken, fish, lamb, etc. burgers. And you can also customise your burgers. However, there is also set burger-types so you don’t have to make an overabundance of choices.

Atmosphere: Eating burgers in a group is always a light-hearted time. Burger places are not normally upper-class restaurants. People are often relaxed and there is often a jovial atmosphere around the table where people are just relaxed and eating.

Quick Turnaround: Most places have a quick turnaround in making the meals, even with large numbers. Most times you don’t have to worry about going over your lunch break.

I have decided to make an official 10×10 challenge for 2018 board games with 10×10. This is 10 games I want to play 10 times over the course of the year. This is to hopefully get a bit more depth into the games I really like.

Games I have already played >10 times won’t count. This means Scythe, Mansions of Madness, 7 Wonders, Star Realms, Codenames, Stone Age and Kingdom Death Monster are games that are out (amongst others). My limiting factor are games that I have played a maximum of 3 times.

I also plan on updating my music list and detailing the songs that have made it in (at least temporarily) and perhaps some more thoughts on food. When some more interesting things hit Kickstarter I may look into a few more projects.